The Promise
by Star of the Sea
Summary: Post-Hogwarts. Ron realizes he needs Hermione as more than a friend (I couldn't think of a better way to put it). a multi-chapter songfic
1. Introduction

Disclaimer: Oh, how I love disclaimers. You would think because this is under fanfiction, copyrights and stuff would just be assumed. Ah, well. "The Promise" is a song by When in Rome (one hit wonder, but it's a very pretty song) (p.s. the lyrics will be in italics). Harry Potter characters and stuff are Rowlings. Idea and story is MINE!!!! Oh, yeah!!!!!!! 

The Promise  
Prologue  


_When you need a friend, don't look to a stranger._

Ron Weasley is not what someone would call the romantic type. But on the inside, he's all heart (he is after all a Pisces...^_^). Through out his time at Hogwarts, he never let his soft side shine through. That may be one of his biggest mistakes. Everyone had a new life now. Ron realized he had to let his guard down. He didn't want to be alone for the rest of his life. Granted he still had his friends, but everytime he saw them, his insides caved in from the pressure of his heart breaking. Ron has had dates. He's never actually been alone, but now it was time for something more. But only one thing could cure him of his longing. Only one person could save him. Luckily, that person was alone as well, but maybe not for long. 


	2. Chapter 1

The Promise  
Chapter 1  


_You know in the end, I'll always be there._

Ron looked around the room. Empty. He looked at the hands on the clock. One lonely hand was pointing at home. Then he saw a hand move swiftly to join his. It was Ginny. She and Harry had apparated into the Weasley's living room. They walked into the kitchen to see Ron sitting there with a plate of untouched toast in front of him. 

"Hey, Ron. Not hungry I see." Harry quickly snatched up a piece of toast. 

"Harry, we just ate!" Ginny said. "I must say, you are acting as though you are the one who is pregnant." Harry gave her an innocent look while inhaling the piece of toast. Ginny rolled her eyes at him. She took a seat next to Ron at the table. Harry sat on the other side of him. "How are you doing?" she asked with concern. 

He looked up at her oblivious to why she was using that tone of voice. "I'm fine. Are *you* all right?" 

"You just seem to be distancing yourself a lot." 

"Ginny, you're not a psychiatrist. I think the pregnancy is getting to you." Ginny rubbed her stomach, offended. "Have you thought about any names yet?" 

"It's a girl," said Harry, "so we decided on Margaret Lilian Potter." 

"Maggie Potter?" Ron said, with a hint of disgust. He quickly changed his mood when he saw Ginny was about to say something. "It's pretty! I like it." Ginny leaned back in her chair. "Wow. A girl....You two must be thrilled. What would you have named her if she had been a boy?" 

Ginny smiled. "Benjamin James Potter." 

"Good thing it's a girl." Ginny punched him on the arm. "I'm just kiddding!" said Ron, rubbing his arm. "So how come this kid doesn't get a Weasley name?" 

"We will for our second child." 

Ron shook his head. "Five months since conception and you're already planning for the next child." 

"There's no harm in thinking about the future. Right, Harry?" Ginny looked over at her husband, who was staring off into space. 

"Huh? What? Did you say something?" 

Ginny frowned. "I was just telling Ron that people should think about their futures." 

"Oh. Oh, yeah. In fact that's what I was doing just now," said Harry, quickly. "I have a Quidditch match this weekend. Are you gonna come watch, Ron?" 

"Of course. Nothing better to do." 

"Oh, geez. Thanks. How supportive." 

"I didn't mean it that way," said Ron. "Is Hermione going?" 

"I haven't asked. I figured she wouldn't be able to. Did you ever see a professor leave Hogwarts to attend a professional Quidditch match?" 

"Well, you should ask her anyway." 

"Why don't you ask her?" suggested Ginny, smiling. The look on Ginny's face made Ron feel uncomfortable and confused. 

Harry had to get to Quidditch practice, so he and Ginny disapparated from the Burrow. Ron ran upstairs to the bathroom. He washed his face and combed his hair. 'I need a haircut,' he thought, looking at himself in the mirror. He put on some clean robes and went down to the living room. He grabbed some floo powder and stood in front of the fire. "Hogsmeade!" he declared, then stepped into the fire. 

Ron stepped out of the Three Broomsticks to the empty sidewalks. He made his way up to Hogwarts. He stopped when he got to the castle. 'I should just wait until this evening,' he thought. 'Maybe I should have just sent an owl. Oh, stop being such a git, Ron! You want to see her, so go inside.' Ron opened the large doors and entered into the entrance hall. Everything looked the same as it had when he had left. He slowly walked up the staircases and made his way to the Transfiguration classroom. Hermione was inside at her desk. She must have had a free period. He walked in, knocking on the door while entering. 

Hermione looked up. "Hi, Ron! What a nice surprise!" 

"All right there, Hermione?" he asked, standing in front of her desk. 

"I'm all right. You look a bit nervous. Why don't you take a seat?" She motioned to a desk in front of her. Ron grabbed a chair and sat down. "So, what brings you back to Hogwarts?" 

"I just wanted to ask you if you were going to Harry's Quidditch match this weekend." 

"I wasn't aware of the match. Of course I'll go." She paused and looked at him questioningly. "Couldn't you have just sent me an owl?" 

Ron shifted uncomfortably in his chair. "I just thought I'd come here and see how you were doing. I haven't seen you since last summer." 

"Well, being a professor at Hogwarts takes up quite a lot of time. I wish I could spend more time with you and Harry. I'd especially like to see Ginny. How is she?" 

"Oh, she's fine. She and Harry are fine. They plan on naming their baby Margaret Lilian Potter." 

"Oh! That's so sweet! They are going to have a little girl. I'm so jealous." 

Ron was surprised by this. "I didn't know you wanted to have children." 

"Oh, I don't know. I have been thinking, and I would like to have one child at least." She smiled. "But I suppose I need to get married first." 

"Who are you going to meet if you live and work at Hogwarts?" 

"Actually..." Ron raised an eyebrow at her. "I am sort of seeing somebody." 

Hermione might as well have reached into Ron's torso and pulled out his insides. "Oh, really? Who?" 

"Um...I'd rather not say." 

"Oh, come on. You know I won't leave you alone until you tell me." 

Hermione examined Ron's face. "Alright. I've started dating Viktor again." 

Ron looked confused for a bit then it hit him. "Krum?! You're dating Krum?!" 

"Well, he recently contacted me, wanting to see how I was doing and what I was up to. We just started talking again. It's not like how it was after our fourth year. Times have changed. Everything is peaceful now. Other things have changed as well, and I thought I would give him another chance." 

"Why *did* you decide not to date him before?" 

Hermione hesitated and looked down at her desk. She looked back at Ron sincerely. "Because I wasn't interested in Viktor. I know that you liked me. And at the time, I liked Harry." She looked away. "Really, I didn't know what I wanted, and besides, it didn't matter. We were all concerned with other matters." She paused, looked at Ron, and waited for a reply. He just sat there waiting for her to continue. She continued, "But now those matters are over with. I am no longer confused. Everyone has moved on. Viktor is still interested in me, so I figured why not?" 

Ron got up, and Hermione rose as well. "I think I better be going now," he said. She watched him walk to the door. He stopped and turned enough to look over at her. "I hope things work out for you this time around." She gave him a hopeful smile. Ron worked up the courage to say what he was about to say. He smiled back. "If they don't, well, I'll always be here for you." 


	3. Chapter 2

The Promise  
Chapter 2  


_When you're in doubt, and when you're in danger._

The day was extremely windy. Ron tried to warm-up his hands and focus on the game rather than how cold he was. Ginny sat next to him apparently alright. 

"Aren't you cold?" Ron asked her. 

"Actually, this is quite nice," she said, looking completely relaxed. "I have been boiling for the last few days." 

"Have you been to the doctor? You might be coming down with something." 

"Oh, no. The doctor said it's perfectly normal. He just warned me not to get too cold." 

Ron studied the look on Ginny's face. Her eyes followed Harry intently. He couldn't help feeling a bit jealous of their relationship. 

Ginny suddenly sat up. "Ooh!" she exclaimed. 

"POTTER IS NOW CHASING AFTER THE SNITCH!" cried the announcer. "AND HE HAS IT!!! THE CANNONS HAVE DONE IT AGAIN!!!" 

"You must be really glad that you're team is finally winning games," Ginny said to Ron as the applause died down. 

"Mock me if you want. I've always believed in them." 

They left the stands to go wait for Harry. "Would you mind waiting here?" Ginny asked, doing a weird dance on her toes. "I've got to run to the bathroom." Ron let out a sigh, and Ginny bolted away from him. 

"Ron?" Ron turned and saw Hermione. "Is the game over already?" 

"Yeah. Harry caught the snitch in no time." Hermione looked disappointed. "Why are you late? The game had started twenty minutes ago." 

"I told Krum I would be watching the game, and he insisted on taking me to lunch before it." Ron's face stiffened. "I tried to get here on time. I really did. Oh, well. There will be more games. I bet they'll make it to the Quidditch Cup. I'll be sure to attend that. Wild horses couldn't keep me from it." 

Ron wasn't really satisfied with her answer. "Hermione!" exclaimed Ginny as she approached the two of them with Harry. 

"Hi, Ginny! You look great!" said Hermione as she hugged her and Harry. "I'm sorry I missed your game, Harry." 

"That's alright. You just better be there when we go to the World Cup." Ron had a smug look on his face. "What's with you?" 

"Hm? Me? Nothing," he said, trying to act oblivious. 

"Come on. Let's go to our house, and we'll all have some tea," said Ginny. They all apparated and found themselves right outside of Harry's and Ginny's home. It looked nothing like the Burrow, but it was definitely a wizard's home. It had no particular shape and was three stories high. The backyard looked more like a jungle than the one the Weasley's had, but there was a wide space behind it which seemed to be where Harry practiced Quidditch. The inside looked like two decorators with completely different tastes had a go at it. It was filled with mismatching furniture, but half of it matched as did the other half. There were a lot of windows, and the first floor was completely open as there were no doors separating each room, except of course for the bathroom. A weird floral motiff collided with a sort of gothic theme. It didn't look hideous, but it did look distorted. 

"Wow," said Hermione, looking around with her eyes wide open. "Last time I was here it was completely empty and congruent." 

Ginny, in the kitchen area busy preparing tea, looked over at Hermione with a smile. "Oh, well, we kind of had differences of styles." 

"Maybe only one of you should have decorated then." 

Ginny laughed. "I *wish* one of us could have decorated, but they wouldn't give us a chance." 

"Who are they?" 

"Sirius and my mum." Hermione contained her laughter. 

"Really?" she said, smiling stupidly. 

"They each wanted to help, and they both kind of took over. We didn't have the heart to refuse either of them." Ginny paused and looked around. "It grows on you after a while." 

They all sat down at a beautiful peach colored table that had a small black statue of a gargoyle as a centerpiece. 

"So how have you been at Hogwarts?" Ginny asked Hermione. 

"Wonderful!" she said. "The students are all great. And the teachers have all been so welcoming. All except for one of course. But he'll never change." 

"I couldn't imagine ever having Snape as a co-worker," said Harry, shaking his head. 

"It's not that bad. It would probably be worse if I was head of Gryffindor." 

"Who is it now?" asked Ginny. 

"Professor Tenebram. He went to Hogwarts right before us. He is the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. The way he teaches reminds me a lot of Lupin." Harry, Hermione, and Ron all got misty looks in their eyes. Hermione sighed. "How is Sirius doing?" she asked Harry. 

"He is finally getting back on his feet. I guess losing all of his friends just put a huge weight on him. He's trying to find a job, but it's not that easy." 

"His name is cleared now. How come he just doesn't go back to his former job?" asked Ron. 

"It's only been a few years since his name has been cleared. For twelve years everyone thought he was a cold blooded dark wizard. People just have a hard time seeing past that." 

The four of them talked, while they finished their tea, catching up on each other's lives. 

"I have to run now," said Hermione as she stood up. "Thank you so much for tea. It was good to see you two again." They said their goodbyes and with a crack, she was gone. 

Ron sat back down and saw Ginny smiling at him again. "What?" he asked. 

"What were you two talking about earlier at the Quidditch game?" 

"She was telling me why she was late." 

"And why was that?" asked Harry. 

"She was having lunch with Viktor Krum." Ginny's face fell and Harry nearly choked on his muffin. 

"Are they dating again?" Harry asked after he recovered from the pastry's attack. Ron sort of shrugged and nodded. "Dating the enemy," he said, shaking his head and taking another bite of his muffin. 

"I'm sorry, Ron," said Ginny, sympathetically. 

"Why are you sorry? It doesn't affect me." Ginny still had a pitying look on her face. "I'm going to go now." Ron stood up. 

"Where are you going?" Ginny asked, worried. Meanwhile Harry was still focused on finishing off his muffin. 

"I'm tired. I didn't get much sleep last night." 

"Oh. Okay then. Tell mom and dad I said hello." 

"I will." And with a crack, Ron found himself in Hogsmeade. He went to the Three Broomsticks and sat at the bar. 

"What'll it be?" asked Madame Rosmerta. 

"Butterbeer," said Ron, who wasn't much of a drinker. 

Rosmerta shook her head. "I hope you don't plan on riding any broomsticks home," she joked, passing a tankard to Ron. 

Ron had barely taken a sip of his butterbeer when someone burst into the Three Broomsticks. "THERE'S JUST BEEN A KILLING AT HOGWARTS!!!" 


End file.
